No funds allocated for proposed Seraiki, Bahawalpur provinces

ISLAMABAD: No allocation has been made for the creation of South Punjab province and restoration of Bahawalpur province in the new federal budget, nor did Finance Minister Dr Abdul Hafeez Shaikh even make a mention of establishing the two new federating units.

This was in sharp contrast to what the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) has been harping on for quite some time. The prime minister said two days ago that the provinces will be created before the next election.

The creation of a new province and the revival of Bahawalpur as province will require lots of funds to work as the new federating units.On Thursday, President Asif Ali Zardari sent a reference to the National Assembly speaker, calling for the formation of a commission regarding the carving out of these two provinces.

The commission, which will have 14 federal and provincial lawmakers, will look into issues relating to the creation of South Punjab and Bahawalpur provinces in the majority federating unit and initiate the process of amendments in the constitution for the purpose.

The commission will submit a report to the speaker and the prime minister within a month that will then be followed by the process of constitutional amendments. The reference drew the attention of the speaker to resolutions passed by national and Punjab assemblies calling for the creation of new provinces.